Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs Overview
Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.
Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design in small sections (200-300 words), checking after each section whether it looks right so far.
The Process
Understanding the idea:
Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits) Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria
Exploring approaches:
Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs Present options conversationally with your recommendation and reasoning Lead with your recommended option and explain why
Presenting the design:
Once you believe you understand what you're building, present the design Break it into sections of 200-300 words Ask after each section whether it looks right so far Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense After the Design
Documentation:
Write the validated design to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-
Implementation (if continuing):
Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?" Use superpowers:using-git-worktrees to create isolated workspace Use superpowers:writing-plans to create detailed implementation plan Key Principles One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended when possible YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from all designs Explore alternatives - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling Incremental validation - Present design in sections, validate each Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense